


in sickness and in health, till death do us part

by sweetnpeachie



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Big Brother Uchiha Itachi, Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Love, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Uchiha Sasuke Returns to Konoha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 19:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20917094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetnpeachie/pseuds/sweetnpeachie
Summary: a different take on the important confrontation between the two Uchiha brothers with Naruto involved, it ends a happier then they expected





	in sickness and in health, till death do us part

**Author's Note:**

> a little bit of canon divergence even though it is not really mentioned Jiraiya died before this and the battle between pain and the leaf village occurred which is why Naruto is a little bit more mature, also having Itachi insert his memories into Sasuke like that was just something i added that he could do because of the sharingan

This fight had been planned so many years in advance that it felt inevitable and almost like it was fated to occur, an avenger of a clan versing a betrayer of the same clan. Brothers who had become so powerful because of different reasons coming together to face off in one final battle that will end it all, in all honesty Sasuke does not even mind if he does not make it out of the fight - as long as he puts his brother down.

It could be said that Sasuke was a prideful man and he felt the saying pride comes before the fall harder then he ever had, backed up against a tall piece of rubble with his older brother staggering towards him. Confidence had led him to this point and guided him to this confrontation with the knowledge that he could end it, with his back against the stone he felt none of that steely confidence he had carried around like armour.

As Itachi neared he raised his hand and as Sasuke readied himself for the final blow, the push that would send him to finally meet his parents once again, it did not come as what he felt instead was the gentle nudge of two of Itachi's fingers against his forehead. Such a familiar action that it almost brought him to tears but he watched as his older brother gave him a small smile and apologized, face weary and covered in marks mixed with his own red blood.

"For years i carried this with me knowing i was taking it to my grave but things have come to change, he wants to use you in his fight against the leaf village and i cannot allow you to be manipulated because of something i could have prevented."

"Brother what-."

He felt it within that instance with flashing images and moving pictures flooding his mind and assaulting his senses, as his eyes felt like they were burning his mind pounded with an unforeseen intensity. When he could focus he realized that each passing motion was a memory but none of his own, for he could see himself in some of the memories but they were the memories of someone other than him.

Watching in shock he saw what Itachi had gone through before and after he was born, everything that his older brother had carried as a burden and all the ways he was used by those older then him and more meticulously cruel than Itachi could ever be. For all that he saw and felt it was over in a moment, he had fallen to his knees during the barrage of information inserted into him forcefully, sobs wracked his body and he shook with force.

"Feel rage as you deem fit but to not act on it on my account, i am willing to atone for my sins myself, hate who you want to hate but do not allow it to lead to your own downfall because that still leaves the people orchestrating winning. Make the changes you want to see and be the positive driving force that prevents other things from happening, be the good you wish to see."

By now Itachi was slumped against the concrete that Sasuke had felt cornered against just moments ago, coughing up blood that he tried to hide from his younger brothers sight even now - attempting to ease the burden from the one person he wishes to protect amongst all. Sasuke was before him kneeling as if in prayer with tears flowing freely down his cheeks, it had been so long since he openly expressed his emotions in such a way.

"You do not need to atone for anything because i forgive you, please do not leave me now brother because i need you, stay by my side longer because i love you."

There was a commotion a little way away and Sasuke turned to see two members of the Akatsuki had made their entrance, one decorated by plants and the other wearing an orange masked swirling towards an open eye hole to the side. One of them had to be the one Itachi was protecting him from, the only other members alive were Itachi and Kisame who his older brother trusted with his life.

"Now, now Itachi this was not how it was meant to go down."

So much was happening all too quickly but all he knew was his older brother was laying dying and a threat was approaching them, even before Itachi could muster up the strength to attack to protect his younger brother, Sasuke was increasing his power and defence as far as he could. It was hard holding a confident stance as he cried but if this was his last moments alive he wanted to be doing them protecting his brother.

But then there was another commotion and Sasuke spared a look away from his current battle to see his comrades from the leaf village were standing off to the side of the rubble, white coats on and faces looking as seriously determined as ever. His muscles were getting heavier and his eyes were going in and out of focus, mind buzzing and skin tingling but before he could collapse he needed to insure his brothers safety.

More than anyone else he always seemed to find himself looking at Naruto for help and this time was no different, despite the time they had spent apart and the state of their relationship he looked over at Naruto. He might have begged, it might have just been the way he looked at him that made him know but whatever happened occurred after Sasuke passed out and collapsed by his brothers side.

When he next woke up there was screaming with a throat that felt uncomfortably raw, his eyes were blurry and Sasuke found he could not focus on anything besides the pounding pain in his head as memories assaulted him at a near constant pace. He wanted his brother with him but what if Itachi had not made it out alive? Sasuke needed his brother but what if they had detained him instead of letting him heal?

"Sasuke please i need you to settle down or Sakura is going to kill me!"

There was a faint whisper on the edge of his consciousness but all he could see was his brothers blood on his hands and images from the fight they had fought so hard, all the pain and bloodshed that had happened between them even before the fight took place. Itachi had not held back but he was weakened by the illness, he had so desperately wanted to be redeemed and he had wanted to die during that fight.

It had gone wrong though with that orange masked Akatsuki member causing issues, because of him Sasuke had felt the pain that Itachi had been forced to go through since the time he was young. All the pressure from their parents as well as other clan members but also the pressure from the village higher ups, sifting through the memories he also saw himself from Itachi's perspective and the overwhelming love he had felt.

He had gone on for so long hating his brother that the guilt was almost suffocating now, if anyone had deserved to die during the fight it had been himself because Itachi had never really had a choice but Sasuke always had. It was so different for the two of them - an older brother who sacrificed so much for others and a younger brother that sacrificed others so much for his own personal mission.

"Come on Sasuke please!"

Then he began seeing familiar faces that had seemed blurry to begin with, during Itachi's time in the anbu corps he had been teamed up with Kakashi and they had met when Itachi returned to the village as an Akatsuki member all those years later. What shocked him more was how many interactions he had had with Naruto that Sasuke never found out about, especially the most recent occurrence in the forest before Itachi had left to fight Sasuke.

At the thought of these familiar faces Sasuke could finally hear the whispering for what it was, the familiar loud voice asking him for something and the more he focused on the voice the more grounded he felt. He stopped the screaming when he realized it was his real body screaming not memories, there was also a presence next to him on the bed holding him and stopping him from hurting himself in his confusion.

"You are so strong Sasuke please come back to us we need you, i need you."

"N-Naruto-."

Voice strained and rough but it seemed to calm Naruto down who realized finally that Sasuke was no longer in his own delirium, he had come out of his mind and was finally aware of all his surroundings. Blushing slightly at the close contact Naruto began fixing things up, helping Sasuke drink glasses of water before laying him comfortably down on the hospital bed if the room around them suggested anything

"Where?"

"Oh! We got you some healing before we moved you because Sakura is a medical ninja now, then when we got to the village you were brought to an isolated section of the hospital. Sometimes you would wake up in fits screaming, you have not opened your eyes until now and i was honestly starting to get worried even though lady Tsunade said not worry but how was i meant to not worry-."

"Your rambling, idiot."

"Ah yeah well i am nervous you know? I was worried that the short moments i left your side that by the time i got back to you that you would be gone, really i am hoping the longer i talk to you the longer it will be before you decide to flee because i finally have you back."

He seemed to cut himself off from rambling anymore though as he looked off towards the door, there were no windows in the room but there was enough artificial light to make up for that. During their time apart things were bound to change but he looked so differently, of course he still looked like an idiot but an idiot that knew more about the world than he had when they were younger and more volatile.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

"I said thank you idiot."

"What for?"

Sometimes Sasuke really worried that Naruto would be an idiot forever and found himself flicking him on the forehead with the smile that Itachi had always given him, with that in mind his calm ended and he realized that yes his older brother had been by his side after the fight. Has they also healed him along the way or did they leave him for dead, all he had wanted to do was save his older brother but he had passed out instead."

"N-Never mind that idiot where is Itachi, where is my older brother? You guys saved him right, he needed to be saved and i could not save him because i used up all my chakra during the fight but-."

"Whose rambling now? I had to carry you back because Kakashi was busy carrying your brother, our main focus was on healing him Sakura said as he was in a worse condition but he recovered quicker then you."

"Does that mean?"

"He has not been let out of the facility yet but he comes in every day to check up on you, every time he comes in he holds your hand and it takes us a very long time each day to get you to let go of him."

Blushing was not something Sasuke did often but he felt slightly embarrassed to be caught still clutching to his brothers hand at this age, it was a subconscious habit as he always seemed to be holding onto his brother during their childhood together. Though if they were letting Itachi move around with such freedoms it meant they were not locking him up or at least not yet, now that he was awake he wanted to be with his brother.

"Comes in every day on time but do not worry that time has not passed yet, i know i might not be the person you want to be with right now but just hold on a little longer."

Maybe it was the exhaustion or the dizzy feeling that had yet to completely disappear, it could be the disorientated feeling from being asleep for too long or the pain from whatever he had been experiencing but he was being unusually honest with his words. He remembered how long Naruto must have waited for a moment like this to see him and how hard he had fought to get to see him, so he relaxed and leaned into Naruto a little more.

"Your fine idiot but i am just worried, i got my brother back but i know everyone else is not going to understand what happened and i am worried about what is going to happen to him."

"Hmm, can i tell you something that might ease you worries? Although i am not actually meant to know yet."

"Not sure if these worries can be so easily cast away."

"Well you remember Ino, right? Her dad Inoichi is part of the torture and interrogation force, after Itachi healed they brought him in to have his memories examined which is where they saw what had happened. They looked at the important stuff like what he did for our village, all the sacrifices he made and the burdens he carried but they also saw how much he loved you because it was in every part of his memories since you were born."

"They did not hurt him right?"

"Actually he seemed to be grateful to share that part of him but wanted them to see for themselves and make the conclusions from that not from his own opinion, since he had shown you he knew you would probably fight for him and he did not want you seen as a sympathizer of a defected ninja."  
  
Forgiveness was not easily given by most people which is something that Sasuke knew well himself but if anyone deserved to be forgiven and free of his sins it was Itachi, he had done everything for his village and sacrificed so much. Being told that his older brother loved him so dearly pulled at his own heart, how could he loved someone like Sasuke so wholeheartedly when he did not deserve even an ounce of it.  
  
He had fought to kill his older brother and the regret he had felt, being backed up against that collapsed piece of rubble at not being able to succeed in avenging his clan almost tore him apart. If Itachi's hand had not been forced the both of them probably would have died, one of them still carrying the burden he did not deserve and the other one filled with such visceral hatred that was unfounded and undeserved.  
  
Such hatred and such pain had been the driving force behind all of Sasuke's decisions and actions for so long he forgot what it felt like to be free of them, next to Naruto's shining brightness he felt like a black hole of darkness. How had his older brother managed to overcome this Uchiha circle of hatred when he found himself so enveloped in the emotions that it overtook him, Sasuke became so distorted from the image of someone ideal like Itachi.

"Do you know what they plan to do with me when i am healed, my sins are unforgiveable."

"You worry too much Sasuke, i am here am i not?"

For many those words would not be a reassurance, how could one person face off against an entire village of people but while Naruto lacks in other areas he had never thrown emotions around like they are nothing. He means what he says and he will never go back on his words, pushing forward through every single experience and coming out new and different even if not always completely successful.

They had changed so much during their time apart over those years but at the same time there was something awfully familiar between them, a connection he could never sever no matter how he justified that to himself that always bound them together. It had started before they even realized it maybe when their mothers had been friends, Naruto still in Kushina's womb and Sasuke only young in his mother Mikoto's arms.

Something about them always kept Sasuke on edge but it was awfully comfortable, having someone there that made you unsteady but not usually in a bad way even if it was confusing. A person who seemed so sure of your place in their lives even when you questioned theirs in yours, the energy that person brings to your life makes everything a little bit more exciting even when it gets messy.

Pushing himself up off the bed with a small awkward smile on his face Naruto began collecting the small things he had brought into the room, in the same moment the room's only door began opening but Sasuke could not focus on that as he shot his arm out to grab Naruto's. His main focus was meant to be on his older brother and finally getting to see him, talk to him properly but he felt sick at the thought of Naruto leaving.

"Itachi is coming in so i will get out of your way do not worry."

Without really listening to him Sasuke pulled on the arm and made an uncoordinated ninja like Naruto stumble back towards him onto the bed, it was a subconscious movement but he knocked Naruto on the head in the same way Itachi had when they were younger. He imagined from Naruto's perspective he had the same small smile on his face as he settled the two of them back down onto the bed, moving his legs to make room for Itachi.

True to his word Kakashi did escort Itachi in who looked uninjured but was still physically feeling the effects of his sickness which was hopefully going to be cured soon, before Kakashi left he shared a few words with Sasuke which had him tearing up and by tearing up he really means sobbing into his hands which his shoulder shaking violently. Hearing his teacher say he still sees him as his student, as an important part of team seven, had him feeling more emotional than he had imagined.

So he ended up staying and sitting next to Itachi at the end of the bed, it was barely big enough to fit two people on it but four people made it close and he could admit that it made him feel safer and more comfortable. Both Itachi and himself did most of the talking, the other two seemed to be pillars of moral support more or less - kept nearby in case they were needed.

"Did Naruto tell you that he carried you bridal style all the way back to the village and i heard that he has only rarely left your side, only for short moments at a time at that, seems you two have something special going on."

Being carried bridal style as a male would be a hit to his ego if he was more sensitive to that but the thought made him feel safe, secure and important as if he was something or somebody that deserved to be rescued. At that, being teased by his brother felt comfortable and something he had missed as he rarely thought about the soft brotherly times they had shared because it did not fuel his hatred.

"You know, Sasuke is important to me! We have always had a connection that has been hard to describe, he has always been someone worth saving."

He could pretend he was not crying as everyone's attention was not on Sasuke who had his head resting on his knees, tears falling gentle onto the blanket as he took in the fact that their feelings are really two sided. They had always had something significant and not easily defined, an important impact in each others lives and a rivalry that pushed them both to succeed.

"Oh but did you hear that your little brother's first kiss and second kiss were taken by Naruto?"

Both boys felt their faces warm up at the thought of what had occurred not once but twice during their childhood, without thinking Sasuke kicked Naruto off of the bed and was shielding his burning face from Kakashi who was enjoying the turn of events and Itachi who went from teasing older brother to over protective mother figure in no time. Hounding Naruto with questions, telling him if he hurt Sasuke he would not be alive to regret it.

For the first time since being brought in it was not Itachi's hand he was holding but Naruto's as they sat together on the bed, staying away from heavy topics that could be covered when they all got out of hospital. Kakashi told him stories of when Itachi was younger and in the anbu corps with him, and unfortunately both him and Naruto told Itachi stories of Sasuke when he was younger and beginning as a ninja.

**Author's Note:**

> [Check out my Twitter](https://t.co/oYvjcjfzmY)


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